RALEIGH, North Carolina (September 16, 2015)— U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell has announced more than $14.2 million in Affordable Care Act funding to support North Carolina’s Community Health Centers (CHCs) in providing primary care services to the state’s most vulnerable communities. The awards include $8.2 million to 28 CHCs—members of the North Carolina Community Health Center Association—to increase access to services such as medical, oral, behavioral, pharmacy, and vision care. An additional $6 million will be awarded to 6 CHCs for facility renovation, expansion, or construction to increase patient or service capacity.
“These awards will allow 22,000 more people across the state to access the high quality, affordable health care our members provide,” said E. Benjamin Money, CEO and President of the North Carolina Community Health Center Association. “The funds build on HHS’s investments to expand access to affordable care for the hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians who have become insured thanks to the Affordable Care Act.”
Since 2013, CHCs have been leaders in the state-wide effort that has helped more than 490,000 people become insured. But CHCs have been a vital part of North Carolina’s healthcare system for 50 years. Today, North Carolina’s 37 CHCs operate 200 care delivery sites in 74 counties and serve more than 450,000 patients annually. For many North Carolinians, including some of the most vulnerable individuals and families, health centers are the essential medical home where they find services that promote health, diagnose and treat disease and disability and help them cope with challenges that put their health at risk.
Six CHCs were also awarded Infrastructure Grants of $1,000,000 each:
- Carolina Family Health Centers, Wilson
- Goshen Medical Center, Faison
- Lincoln Community Health Center, Durham
- Piedmont Health Services, Chapel Hill
- Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center, Ahoskie
- Robeson Health Care Corporation, Pembroke
Learn more about North Carolina’s Community Health Centers: www.ncchca.org
About the North Carolina Community Health Center Association
The North Carolina Community Health Center Association serves as the collective voice for 37 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Look-alikes (LAs)—aka Community Health Centers (CHCs)—in North Carolina. Our members offer a patient-governed, patient-centered health care home that integrates high quality medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, and enabling services without regard to a person’s ability to pay. NCCHCA members are geographically dispersed across 74 counties and operate more than 200 clinical sites.
